Interaction between external and internal conditions in the development of photosynthetic features in a grass leaf [Lolium multiflorum]. II. Reversibility of light-induced responses as a function of developmental stages

Lolium multiflorum plants were grown under a low- or high-light regime until third leaves had emerged to one-third their final length and then were transferred to a contrasting light regime. At this stage, the leaf possesses a tissue-age gradient from tip to base; thus, the reversibility of light-acclimated responses as a function of the degree of differentiation was analyzed in individual leaves. Regional responses in the apical, medial, and basal zones of leaves of transferred plants were analyzed before and after light transfer and compared to leaves from plants kept in constant light. Leaves transferred from low to high light showed rapid recovery and attained light-saturated rates and ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase activities equivalent to those of high-light controls. However, fresh or dry weight and chlorophyll content were intermediate between those for the two irradiances. In the reciprocal experiment, the apical leaf zone retained high-light characteristics for maximum photosynthesis, whereas all the other functional parameters adapted rapidly to values characteristic of their low-light counterparts (equivalent foliar zones). On the ultrastructural level, chloroplasts in the apical zone of transferred leaves surpassed their respective constant light controls in absolute membrane content and size. However, a shift to high light induced an increase in plastid volume and, in relative terms, the plastid membrane content was diluted. A shift to low-light treatment led to smaller membrane-dense plastids. The ultrastructural readaptation is realized through differential rates of increase in plastid volume and lamellar content. Proplastids (leaf base), or juvenile plastids having reached an intermediate developmental stage (leaf middle zone) at the time of transfer, took on characteristics of the latter light regime (equivalent to controls). These results provide evidence for rapid reacclimation processes under changing light regimes and suggest a capacity for regional light responses along the leaf.